Forbidden Flames of Sicily

In the final three minutes of my life, my soul drifted to my mother's side.

She was sitting beside my younger brother Felix Goodman's hospital bed, her face filled with worry as she prayed, "Felix, please don't scare me like this. Wake up, okay?"

My father stood nearby, his face twisted in fury. "If Sean had done his job and protected him, Felix wouldn't be in this state! Just wait. I'm going to beat him to death!"

I stood and watched at the side, bitterness rising in my chest.

"Dad, there's no need for that. I'm almost dead. Not that you guys would care."

At that moment, the doctors were gathered around Felix's bed in a circle.

After confirming that his injuries were only scrapes and nothing major, one of the older doctors finally dared to bring me up. He asked cautiously, "Ms. Blanchard, are you sure we shouldn't check on Sean? His injuries from the car crash seem very serious."

Mom's gentle expression instantly turned into one of disgust as she roared, "What's he trying to pull now? Playing dead? Doesn't he realize what he's done to his brother?"

I stared at her, stunned. Though my heart had already stopped, it still somehow throbbed with pain.

I was their son, too. Did they really not care about me at all?

Suddenly, Mom picked up her phone and dialed my number.

A nurse brought the phone to my ear, and instead of hearing the concern I had hoped for, all I heard was contempt.

"Sean Goodman, when are you going to crawl out of bed and apologize to your brother?"

My heart instantly turned cold as whatever hope I had left withered away.

Of course, she never cared about me.

Come to think of it, when I was first brought into the hospital, I had begged Mom to save me. But all she said was, "Do you have to fight for attention even at a time like this? Don't you realize that your brother nearly broke a bone?"

Then, she turned and walked away without a second glance, taking the entire medical team with her to tend to Felix.

How could she have the capacity to love me?

The nurse, unable to bear it any longer, took the phone and said, "Ms. Blanchard, Sean can't hang on much longer."

But Mom, still convinced that I was faking it, let out a mocking laugh. "How much did that brat pay you to act along with him? I can't believe he's capable of something like this!"

Just as she finished speaking, Felix, who had been acting unconscious the whole time, finally woke up. He faked a weak voice and asked, "Mom, Dad, how's Sean?"

As Mom looked at the obedient, considerate Felix lying on the bed, her expression twisted into even deeper contempt. "Sean, why can't you be more like your brother? He's hurt because of you, and yet he's still worried about you.

"If you don't get here in the next three minutes to apologize, don't bother ever showing your face to me again!"

She then hung up, her chest heaving with anger.

Dad, standing beside her, looked clearly displeased. "Why bother calling him? Isn't it enough that he nearly got Felix killed?"

Felix lowered his head, trying to hide the smug look in his eyes. He put on a guilty expression before looking up at them. "Mom, Dad, don't be mad at him. Sean has just never forgiven me for getting the overseas scholarship instead of him. I understand why he hates me."

I couldn't help but laugh.

Even in my death, Felix was still trying to sow discord between me and my parents.

However, my parents would never see through him. In their eyes, he would always be the better son.

And they would never think about the true reason to the car accident.